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Japan to Propose Asian Version of IEA at AZEC Summit

Tokyo, Nov. 15 (Jiji Press) -- Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at an upcoming regional summit in Manila plans to propose the creation of an Asian version of the International Energy Agency, it was learned Sunday. Through the envisioned framework, which would call for cooperation in oil stockpiling in preparation for energy crises, Japan aims to strengthen Asia's energy supply chains, whose vulnerability has been exposed in the wake of the ongoing Middle East turmoil. Takaichi will present the plan at a summit Tuesday of the 11-member Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC), a regional cooperation framework for realizing carbon neutrality, informed sources said. Japan will play a role in establishing the Asian version of the IEA while the Jakarta-based Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia, or ERIA, which investigates and researches energy security issues in the region, will serve as the ...

Oil Market Weekly: The Glut Is Back, but the Tank Is Still Running on Empty

Just when the oil bulls thought they'd buried the global supply glut beneath eight months of Middle East mayhem, the surplus has crawled straight back out of the grave. October production exceeded consumption by almost 2 million barrels a day, and the IEA is projecting an eye-watering 4.5 million barrels-a-day surplus by the second quarter of 2027. On paper, that's enough to have the bears dusting off their $60 Brent forecasts. But there's a rather inconvenient problem with the victory lap. Global inventories have been drained by months of war, refined fuels remain stubbornly expensive, and the recovery in Gulf shipments still depends heavily on American naval protection. Even the options market is pricing a calmer future. The trouble is, the physical oil market hasn't fully received the memo. The global oil balance has staged an extraordinary reversal, but the headline ...

A COP of Doom

At a Local Futures conference in 2010, I was asked what chance I thought humans had of surviving past this century, and I said less than 1%. Some jaws dropped, but my opinion has not wavered in the years since. I've got doomer cred, and aim to keep it. I often think the best strategy for me would be to find a place high in the bleachers from which to watch the Great Unraveling, a popcorn bucket in my lap. Maybe a cave in Greenland. But I also believe in the axiom that doing nothing assures defeat, while doing something might surprise you and succeed. Hence the title of this blog, The Great Change. Place yourself decades into the future, in a happy, healthy, abundant world, and backcast a way to get to there from here. Many favorable pathways exist, even ...

Qatar and Turkiye sign a mutual defence pact: What do we know?

Qatar and Turkiye have welcomed a new mutual defence agreement that commits them to a common position against any external armed attack on either country. The pact followed Friday's high-level meeting of the Turkiye-Qatar Supreme Strategic Committee in Istanbul, chaired by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. It comes as the region deals with the fallout of the United States-Israeli war on Iran and disruption to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. So what is in the agreement, and why does it matter now? Here's what you need to know: What does the agreement say? According to a joint communique, the deal aims to strengthen collective defence, promote regional security and establish a common position against external armed attacks targeting either or both countries. It reflects "not only the commitment of its signatories to safeguarding their sovereignty and ...

Electrifying Ambitions Meet Tough Reality in Europe

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com European Union leaders are among the most enthusiastic proponents of maximum electrification to reduce dependence on imported energy commodities. A lot of EU policy pursues precisely that. Yet EU electricity prices last week surged to over 600 euros per MWh on a wind drought, and the bloc still gets over 70% of its final energy consumption from hydrocarbons. Electrification is much easier said than done. In July this year, the European Commission released a plan to turn Europe into the first "electro continent" by boosting the share of electricity in final energy consumption from 23% currently to 46%, and doing that by 2040. The target means that the share of electricity in final energy consumption needs to double—but that is not any electricity that the EC is after. In line with Brussels energy policies from the past ...

Oil prices set for second straight weekly drop on signs of growing supply surplus

HOUSTON: Oil weakened on Friday, set for a second straight weekly decline, as the market weighed signs of a growing global supply surplus and Washington's focus on blockading Iran while ramping up other economic pressures in the nine-month war. Brent futures settled at USD95.84 a barrel, up 2 cents, or 0.02 percent. US West Texas Intermediate futures finished at USD88.56 a barrel, down 18 cents, or 0.20 percent. For the week, Brent and WTI were both on track for a drop of about 2.5 percent. The benchmarks fell 16 percent and 13 percent, respectively, last week. With lower geopolitical risk from the US-Israeli war against Iran and the release on Friday of an International Energy Agency report pointing to a rise in the global oil surplus, the market is going through a major shift. "It's clear the biggest fear a few ...

With shifting Iran rhetoric following U.S. elections, Trump leaves Middle East in limbo about path ahead

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has had a lot to say about his thinking on the way ahead in the Iran war since Republicans were trounced in last week's midterm elections. In exchanges with reporters, broadcast interviews and social media posts since Election Day, he's somehow managed to back away from carrying out additional strikes while also backing away from the prospect of additional talks with the Islamic Republic's negotiators on ending the 8-month-old conflict. The president acknowledged on the day after the midterms that the war and the global economic tumult it's caused were partly to blame for Republicans' electoral losses, while maintaining it was the right thing to do. Then, at the start of this week, he huddled with Qatar's prime minister at the White House and afterward told reporters that he believed it was highly unlikely he'd need to ...

Damaged oil industry facilities reconstruction should be accelerated: acting oil minister

TEHRAN- The Acting Oil Minister, emphasizing the need to accelerate the reconstruction of oil industry facilities damaged in the third imposed war, said: This measure goes beyond the implementation of industrial projects; it is a national and strategic action for the sustainability of energy supply, maintaining public calm, and continuing the country's economic activities. According to IRNA, Hamid Bovard said on Friday at a meeting to review reconstruction plans for damaged refineries in South Pars: The process of measures taken for reconstruction is favorable, but given the importance of the matter, the speed of implementation must be increased, and projects related to phases 9 and 10 must also proceed with greater focus and seriousness. Stating that the reconstruction of oil infrastructure should not be regarded merely as an executive and industrial activity, he added: The importance of these projects lies in their ...

Alaska elects Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins governor

Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, a former state representative from the small island community of Sitka, won the race for Alaska governor, according to a race call by the Associated Press. At 37, he'll be the youngest governor in state history. Kreiss-Tomkins will replace outgoing Gov. Mike Dunleavy, a term-limited Republican who has been governor since 2018. The state's last Democratic governor was Tony Knowles, who left office in 2002. Kreiss-Tomkins, known by his initials JKT, made his "high-energy, bipartisan, problem-solving approach" a centerpiece of his campaign. He's said he plans to build an administration of Democrats, Republicans and independents and described himself at a debate as a "man of the middle." He was endorsed by three former governors - a Democrat, a Republican and an independent - along with Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski. "Alaskans want change," Kreiss-Tomkins said in an interview Friday. "They want (a) bipartisan ...

IEA accelerates emergency oil releases through February as diesel shortages persist

The International Energy Agency (IEA) expects member countries to accelerate releases from emergency petroleum reserves through February 2027, adding approximately 71 million barrels of crude oil and refined products to global markets as governments attempt to stabilize supplies disrupted by the Middle East conflict. The scheduled withdrawals would roughly double the pace recorded in September and October, with particular emphasis on easing persistent shortages of diesel fuel. According to the agency's latest figures, approximately 15 million barrels of diesel are scheduled for release during the period, primarily from government-controlled inventories in France and Germany. Diesel withdrawals are expected to peak in January at approximately 4 million to 5 million barrels, providing additional supplies during a period of elevated winter fuel demand. Europe is expected to contribute approximately 33 million barrels of crude and petroleum products, while another 37 million barrels are scheduled to ...

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